Thanks so much to all the women of the congregation who have been contributing to Ladies Bible Class. Donations of supplies, money, prayers, and time have all contributed to our church being able to serve our community with zeal and fervor. We have been very busy since January. We made prayer journals, lap blankets for the elderly, and baskets and flower pots for the widows. In April we are making cook books for the ladies of the congregation. We are in need of your recipes. We would also like you to add your favorite scripture with your recipe. Jesus promised that with what He offers we would never hunger or thirst again. So you see the scriptures are the most important part. The recipes can be written on any piece of paper of any size and given to Amber Bryan or any woman from Ladies Bible Class any time in April. Please include your name on the recipe. You can submit as many recipes as you would like. The more the better! In May we will be doing Children’s projects so if you teachers need any help with prepping things please let us know. It is truly a blessing to be able to serve each other.

Our Feed Merkel Campaign started last night and will continue thru May 6th. Group 2 will be setting up, cooking and welcoming our guest on Wednesday March 25th . Everyone is asked to help with cleanup. The groups are listed on the back wall of the auditorium, please see which list you are on, there have been some changes. If you can help contact the team leader of your group. If you are helping cook and setting up be at the family center by 4:00, guest are asked to arrive at 5:30.

There’s a beautiful story about a little boy who couldn’t wait for his new baby sister to come home from the hospital. He couldn’t wait to be near her, to talk to her. But his parents didn’t want him to be left alone with her. After all he was only four years old, so they wanted to supervise his visits. He kept begging to be alone with her, so one night his parents finally relented. The boy tiptoed into her room, stood next to his sister’s crib and said: “Tell me about God – I’m starting to forget.”

There are times when we as adults get so caught up in the “rat race” and all of our responsibilities. Perhaps we need to go to the children around us and say, “Tell me about God — I’m starting to forget.”

There are weeks when we’ve been dealing with irate customers and heavy traffic. We need to fellowship with the saints and worship God together because “I’m starting to forget.”

There are weeks when we’ve had to focus on crying babies, the paying of bills and doctors’ appointments. We need the reminder of the Lord’s Supper to see God’s love and grace because “I’m starting to forget.”

There are days when we’re so caught up in deadlines at work and getting the kids to soccer practice, days when we need to slow down a bit and spend time with God in prayer because “I’m starting to forget.”

Deuteronomy 4:9 “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.”

Are you starting to forget? Ask someone to tell you about God once more. – TFTD

1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4 TNIV).

“Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind” (Proverbs 21:5 MSG).

Although our intellects know better, something about human beings continues to make us suckers to the idea of a quick fix. So entrepreneurial hucksters regularly come along with goofy ideas that garner millions. Then they move on and leave no forwarding address.

Western obsession with weight and appearance seems to make us particularly susceptible to claims about products that promise fitness without effort, weight loss without sweat. One company made big money selling its anti-cellulite sneakers. Another touts electrical muscle stimulation and weight-loss water. People love to think they’ve found an easy way to their goals.

Doctors and fitness experts tell us that healthy eating combined with regular exercise is the best way to slim down. One requires self-discipline, and the other is work. Who wants to pay the price of either, when there is a no-strain, no-pain alternative? Who doesn’t want to think there is an easier way?

In other contexts, it is the person who deceives himself into thinking he can continue to drink after a couple of DUIs and a job loss. It is the one who tells herself that an “innocent flirtation” at the office means nothing. It is parents who refuse to take seriously their child’s brush with the law. It is a family trying to get all it wants with credit cards instead of saving. It is the person who won’t own up to responsibility and apologize for betraying a confidence and hurting a friend.

Want to know why counseling doesn’t work for many troubled marriages?

It turns up areas of the relationship that need work over time. But immature and selfish people want a quick fix.

Perseverance over time in pursuit of a noble and worthwhile goal.

Want to know why so many companies fail? It will take too much hard work over too long a period of time to correct problems, replace incompetent people, and penetrate new markets. Lacking a quick fix, there is bankruptcy.

Want to know why once-thriving churches die? Somebody gets hooked on the notion that spirituality is a new program or gimmick rather than fruit-bearing by the gentle presence of the Holy Spirit. So members go church-hopping again.

One of the virtues that gets too little attention these days is persistence. Not stubbornness. Not “pig-headedness” and inflexibility.

But perseverance over time in pursuit of a noble and worthwhile goal.

It is interesting to me that the Bible places perseverance midway between suffering and character (Romans 5:3-4). There’s just no shortcut from one to the other. – Rubel Shelly

B – She says she loves the way I take control of the situation
A – She called me a controlling, manipulative egomaniac

B – Saturday Night Fever
A – Monday Night Football

B – He makes me feel like a million dollars
A – If I had a dime for every stupid thing he’s done…

B – The Sound of Music
A – The Sound of Silence

B – $60/dozen
A – $1.50/stem

B – We agree on everything!
A – Doesn’t she have a mind of her own?

B – Ideal
A – Idle

B – I love a woman with curves
A- I never said you were fat

B – He’s completely lost without me
A – Why won’t he ever ask for directions?

B – Time stood still
A – This relationship is going nowhere

B – You look so seductive in black
A – Your clothes are so depressing

B – I can hardly believe we found each other
A – I can’t believe I ended up with someone like you

Those of you who have been married a while can relate to the above. Even if your relationship has improved through the years, there was something about those early years — the excitement and thrill of first falling in love — that causes you to look back with a sigh. One of the secrets of a successful marriage is found in striving to recapture the excitement of those early years in the midst of our commitment to longevity.

That’s also one of the secrets of living the Christian life. If you’ve been a Christian for a number of years, chances are you can look back at the time when you first “fell in love” with Christ. There was an excitement that accompanied the newness of your Christian life. But, the newness wore off and, after a while, Christian living may have become somewhat mundane. We need to strive to recapture the excitement of those early years in the midst of our commitment to longevity.

“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works….” (Rev. 2:4-5a)

It is important that we remember and recapture that excitement of being a child of God — the feeling of being cleansed of sin, the desire to share our excitement with everyone else we know, the intention to do everything we can to serve the One we love with all our hearts.

May you never lose that first love. But, if you have lost it, may you seek to recapture it. – TFTD